A/N: Hello, all! Yeah, I know, it isn't Sunday; in fact, it's Tuesday. But I got this chapter wrapped up quite early, so I decided to post it. I might be posting other before Sunday, so keep a look out!

Disclaimer: Yawn... I don't own Warriors. The squirrels do.

Chapter 3

Mosspaw hesitated, debating whether or not to go inside the medicine den. It was possible Flamepaw was busy with Jayfeather, but she really wanted to see him. They hadn't talked with each other for two full days, and she missed him. It was comforting sleeping next to Redpaw, Bluepaw, and Birdpaw, but none of them were her littermates.

Finally, she gave up and pushed her way through the entrance, noticing Jayfeather sitting in front of Flamepaw while the apprentice spread out a few herbs.

Jayfeather's ears flicked towards her. He had obviously noticed her, but he wasn't making any movement to greet her. With a sigh Mosspaw sat down near the entrance and waited for Flamepaw to finish.

It didn't take long, as sorting herbs was quite easy. When Flamepaw had finished, Jayfeather turned his head in Mosspaw's direction, his blind eyes scorching her fur. "Yes?"

Flamepaw turned, surprise registering in his eyes. "Hi, Mosspaw."

Mosspaw dipped her head. "Hi, Jayfeather, Flamepaw. Mind if I talk with my brother for a few minutes, Jayfeather?"

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes and was silent for a few heartbeats. "Fine," he muttered. "But bring him back by sunset."

"Don't trust me to take care of myself?" Flamepaw teased, flicking his mentor with his tail. He stood up and followed Mosspaw out of the medicine den, glancing back once to see Jayfeather putting the herbs into the store.

They emerged into the clearing and Mosspaw noted the position of the sun. It was almost sunset. That wasn't fair.

Turning to Flamepaw, she sat down and wrapped her tail neatly around her paws. Even though greenleaf was approaching, and even though the sun hadn't gone down yet, evenings, nights, and mornings were still slightly cold.

"How's training as a medicine cat going?" Mosspaw asked, not a trace of unhappiness found in her voice. She was truly proud of her brother, even though she didn't have any siblings to sleep next to in the apprentices' den. "Is everything like you dreamed it would be?"

"It's great!" Flamepaw exclaimed. "I miss sleeping with other cats—you especially, Mosspaw—but Jayfeather and I get along fine. He's not as grumpy as he seems."

Mosspaw narrowed her eyes with a huff. "I remember a certain kit complaining of how mean the medicine cat was when he came in to give you herbs for your whitecough."

Flamepaw rolled his eyes. "That's different. So what did you do today? Do you enjoy being a warrior apprentice?"

"Yeah, it's pretty fun. It's a lot of work, though. Stalking seems to come naturally, but the positions are often difficult to master. I caught two mice today, but I was going for a robin and it saw me," Mosspaw growled.

"Mosspaw, I told you, you have to keep your tail still if you want to catch anything!" Lionblaze called from nearby, obviously having heard her comment.

"I couldn't help it! It was my first robin," Mosspaw shot back. Her eyes flashed, but they were gleaming with laughter.

"I see you and Lionblaze get along together as well," Flamepaw commented. "And don't worry about the robin; I'm sure Lionblaze lost lots of prey when he was an apprentice. Probably still does."

Mosspaw purred, turning back to her brother. "Lionblaze said he's going to show me the basic fighting moves tomorrow."

"Really?" Flamepaw pricked his ears, and Mosspaw frowned.

"You're not supposed to get excited about fighting, Flamepaw. You're a medicine cat," Mosspaw pointed out.

Flamepaw nodded, looking away. "I know. And I love everything about being a medicine cat. But . . . I don't know. The thought of fighting just seems to fill me with excitement and energy." He glanced up at the sky, noticing that the sun was about to set. "I'd better get back to Jayfeather, or he'll claw off my whisker."

"That's right! Now get over here!" Jayfeather called from inside the den.

Flamepaw rolled his eyes. Before he left, he meowed quickly to Mosspaw, "Isn't it interesting how we're both being mentored by siblings when we're siblings?"

Mosspaw stared at him. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You know, Jayfeather and Lionblaze are littermates, and you and I are littermates," Flamepaw explained.

"Oh . . ."

Standing up, Flamepaw pressed his muzzle briefly against Mosspaw's cheek. "See you tomorrow, Mosspaw." Mosspaw nodded distractedly, lost in her confusing brain again. Thoughts like "Why did Bramblestar make Lionblaze my mentor? Won't the other apprentices be jealous? Or are they already and just not showing it? When is the Gathering going to be happening? Will I be invited? Where'd Squirrelflight run off to? Come to think of it, where has Leafpool been these last few day?" were reeling around in her mind.

After a while, Mosspaw realized Flamepaw was gone, and she stood up. Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, she rooted around in it and found a small, tasty-looking thrush. Picking it up, she sat down by the tumbled rocks leading up to the leader's den to eat it.

Bramblestar leaped down the rocks a little after she had finished it. Now grooming herself, she looked in up mid-lick, her tongue slightly sticking out.

"Hey, Mosspaw," Bramblestar purred, giving his daughter a soft lick between her ears. "How's training going?"

"It's great! Lionblaze is going to teach me to fight tomorrow," Mosspaw exclaimed, leaning into Bramblestar. She loved her father so much. His leader duties had never stopped him from playing with her and Flamepaw frequently when they were kits. He had even snuck them out into the forest once, ending in the result of Squirrelflight finding out in a rage.

Bramblestar purred, rubbing Mosspaw's back with his tail. "I'm glad you're enjoying it." His voice faltered on the end as noticed Leafpool emerging from the thorn tunnel. He too had noticed Leafpool's many absences, but he hadn't said anything about it.

Father and daughter watched as Squirrelflight and Jayfeather suddenly padded over to Leafpool. The medicine cat's face was expressionless, but Squirrelflight's eyes betrayed worry. What could be wrong with Leafpool?

"Leafpool? Where have you been?" Squirrelflight meowed, stopping in front of her sister. "You've been away from camp a lot. Is something wrong?"

Leafpool looked confused for a heartbeat, but it cleared up after a moment. Mosspaw might have imagined it, but she thought she saw a flash of fear strike the brown she-cat's expression for a fleeting moment. It was gone almost as instantly as it arrived, so Mosspaw couldn't tell.

"No, nothing's wrong, Squirrelflight," Leafpool meowed, her voice calm. "I've just been a bit restless lately. I'm not sure why. I like to go down to the lake shore and watch the water; it seems to calm me."

Squirrelflight nodded and backed off, but it was clear that she didn't believe her. She padded towards the spot Bramblestar and Mosspaw were watching from. Bramblestar glanced at his mate, questions in his eyes. He flicked his tail, motioning to his den. Squirrelflight bounded up the rocks, and Bramblestar gently flicked Mosspaw across her ears in farewell.

Waving her tail goodbye, she trotted over to the apprentices' den and entered it to get some sleep.

Mosspaw was hunting. The forest around her had a soft green look to it, almost as it newleaf and greenleaf had been combined. All the trees and flowers were in bloom, like in newleaf, but the green was bright, sort of like what she imagined greenleaf would be, although she knew that wasn't how it would be like.

Scenting the air, Mosspaw caught the tantalizing smell of a mouse. She followed the trail to a bush circled around it. The mouse was hiding inside it, but before she could get it to come out, she noticed a cat sitting in the clearing beside her.

She had completely forgotten the mouse. Instead, her full attention was on the she-cat in front of her. The cat was certainly from StarClan, because stars danced in her black fur. But which cat was it? No cat had died in Mosspaw's lifetime.

As if in answer to her unspoken question, the black she-cat flicked her tail and meowed, "Greetings, Mosspaw. I am Hollyleaf."

Mosspaw's eyes grew wide. Hollyleaf, the sister of Lionblaze and Jayfeather? The Hollyleaf that had died fighting for her Clan in the Great Battle was standing right in front of her?

Hollyleaf beckoned to Mosspaw again, and the awed apprentice slowly stepped forward. She sat down in front of Hollyleaf and raised her eyes with a questioning look.

Even without Mosspaw asking, Hollyleaf understood what she was trying to express. "I am here to give you a prophecy, Mosspaw. Listen closely."

Her tone grew darker as she meowed, "Eight will come together to protect the forest from the terrible beasts that threaten the Clans."

Mosspaw stared at her. She had just received a prophecy from a StarClan cat! A StarClan cat named Hollyleaf! Trying to focus, she gathered up what she had heard.

"I—I'm part of the eight, aren't I?" Mosspaw mewed, a sudden pang of fear shooting through her. She couldn't save the Clans from savage, evil beasts! She couldn't even catch a robin!

But Hollyleaf nodded, much to her discomfort. "Yes, Mosspaw, you are one of the eight." Flicking her tail, she led the apprentice to a small pool of water at the edge of the clearing. "Look into this pool, Mosspaw," she instructed. "It will reveal clues about the others."

Mosspaw slowly peered into the pool. At first she saw nothing, but then slowly, a form started shaping in the depths. Staring harder, she watched as a brilliant flash of light appeared. Mosspaw could see a long wall of fire. That was supposed to be a clue?

The next thing she saw was a beehive hanging from a branch high up in a tree. Mosspaw noticed particularly a small drop of honey as it swung back and forth and suddenly dropped.

The scene changed, and Mosspaw saw a forest at night, full of shadows. A single icicle followed it, hanging from a branch as high as the hive had been, if not higher.

Suddenly there was a massive amount of water. It was a flood! It drowned everything in its way, which was quite amazing to see, since the surface of the pool stayed unmoving.

It stopped abruptly and showed the surface of the lake with a cloud of fog settled just above it. Looking closer, Mosspaw could see thin water rising from the surface and making the fog thicker.

It swiftly changed, and the pool was left without any clues. Mosspaw looked over at Hollyleaf, confused. That had only been six clues. What was the seventh?

Hollyleaf nodded back at the pool, and Mosspaw turned to it, catching a blinding glare as it filled the entire pool. She gasped, shutting her eyes tight. After a few heartbeats, she peeked up at the sky, but green leaves blocked the view of the sky. She looked back down into the pool, her eyes narrowed to slits to hide the glare. It was the sun! That was the last clue.

The pool slowly returned to its normal cool green state, reflecting the treetops. Mosspaw blinked, running the clues through her head. A long wall of fire, a tiny drop of honey, or maybe it was the beehive, a shadowy forest at night, a single icicle, a pounding flood, fog rising from the lake, and a really bright sun. Those were the clues?

She looked over at Hollyleaf, and the black she-cat spoke again. "Find the rest of the cats at the next Gathering, Mosspaw. Don't worry about it too much until then."

"But what if I don't get to go to the Gathering?" Mosspaw cried. "My entire life will be ruined!"

Hollyleaf shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You will. Don't forget, I'm a StarClan cat. If I say you will, then it's best to just trust me and deal with it when the time comes."

Mosspaw sighed, nodding. "All right."

"It's time to wake up now," Hollyleaf meowed softly. She touched Mosspaw's forehead with her tail and faded from view.

Mosspaw's eyes blinked open. Amberpaw was standing over her, a concerned expression on her face. "Are you all right, Mosspaw?" she asked.

Mosspaw sat up, shaking scraps of moss from her fur. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Snowpaw heard you gasp, and I thought something might be happening in your dream," Amberpaw explained.

He must've heard me gasp when I saw the sun, Mosspaw figured, blinking up at Amberpaw. "Don't worry, I'm fine. It wasn't a bad dream."

Amberpaw shrugged, going back to her nest. She curled up, falling asleep almost instantly. Snowpaw did the same.

Unable to sleep, Mosspaw got up and emerged from the den, spotting Flamepaw sitting outside the medicine den almost instantly. He was staring across the clearing with a faraway gaze.

She crossed over to him, having to wave her tail in his face before his expression cleared. "Oh, hi, Mosspaw," he purred. "I didn't see you there."

She sat down beside him, pressing up against his warm pelt. "What are you thinking about? You seem moons away," Mosspaw meowed.

Flamepaw shrugged. "Just thinking about medicine cats and StarClan."

Mosspaw nodded. It would be quite interesting to have dreams from StarClan. On the other paw, she herself had been given a prophecy. She thought about it again, wondering who the other cats could be. It was possible that Snowpaw could be the single icicle. And maybe Dewpaw was the fog rising from the lake. Maybe. Or maybe the other cats hadn't arrived yet. Were they yet to be born? If that were the case, then why had Hollyleaf said she would find them at the next Gathering?

Mosspaw started. "The Gathering is tonight!"

Flamepaw glanced at his sister. "Yeah . . . You forgot?"

Mosspaw flattened her ears momentarily. "I guess. I hope I get to go."

"So do I, although you're a new apprentice," Flamepaw reminded her. "Bramblestar might not let you come. I have an advantage since I'm a medicine cat, but hopefully Bramblestar will let us both come."

Mosspaw nodded. Then she might be able to find the rest of the cats. But how? There were many different cats in all the Clans, and what if the ones she was looking for weren't at that Gathering? Maybe she should be telling Jayfeather about the dream. Or was it wise to wait?

Shaking her head, she pushed the worrisome thoughts to the back of her mind. She'd deal with them tonight, just like Hollyleaf had said, and she'd tell Jayfeather and Bramblestar about the dream after the Gathering was over.

A/N: So! That wraps up chapter 3. We figured out that Mosspaw can't catch robins, Flamepaw used to despise Jayfeather, and there's a prophecy concering his sister. Does anybody know who the other cats are? There is a possibility that some of the cats are in ThunderClan, so take some guesses when you review! R&R please :)